Woman Found Dead, Hanging From Wire

NORTH HILLS — A 28-year-old woman who apparently was trying to lower herself from her roof to the balcony of a neighbor's condominium was found dead, hanging from a length of wire that was wrapped around her upper body, police said.

The victim, Stacey McNabb, was discovered dangling from the roof of the building in the 9100 block of Lemona Avenue just before 8 p.m. Tuesday.

"Why she was there, we still don't know," said Los Angeles police spokesman Vince Aguirre. He said police believe McNabb's death was accidental.

A male resident at the two-story condominium came home from work Tuesday night and looked up in the atrium where he saw the woman suspended by wire beneath her arms.

He called police, who determined that the woman had climbed onto the roof of the atrium and wrapped the wire under her armpits. She then apparently tried to lower herself onto the balcony, but the wire wasn't long enough for her to gain a foothold. Police said the woman's body was found with cuts and bruises on it.

Los Angeles County coroner's spokesman Scott Carrier said the cause of death can only be determined by an autopsy, but initial investigations indicate that McNabb's death was an accident.

Carrier said McNabb could have died from too little oxygen. "It is always possible for someone to die of positional asphyxia," he said.

The atrium where the woman was found is situated between the buildings and cannot be seen from the street. In order to get to the area where she was found, the woman could have climbed a ladder in the back of the complex.

A neighbor, who lives in the complex and requested anonymity, heard footsteps on the roof in the early afternoon. "I thought it was the air-conditioning man," he said.